Towing a 4500lb TT with an SUV

[ChristyAndJorda]

We currently tow our 17ft ultralight TT with a 2007 Honda Pilot. It is rated to tow 4500lb, we are 3500 dry and about 4350 loaded. We know we're near the top of our capacity, and had planned to tow close to home until we upgrade vehicles, but with work from home privileges during the pandemic, we took it on a now or never 2 month social distancing trip out west. She's doing it, but the mountains are a strain and the gas mileage is terrible. When we get home, we know we need to upgrade tow vehicles. We are looking for recommendations.

My strong preference is for a large SUV. My husband drives when we tow the trailer, so when we park the trailer, I do all the local driving. I am more comfortable in an SUV. I like that our cargo is accessible from inside the car. We also both like that if we want to leave the trailer at camp and have a more rugged overnight adventure (where it would be difficult to tow the TT), we can sleep in the back of the SUV.

Ideally we would like to get 12-15mpg or better. Do you have any recommendations for a large SUV that could do this? Or are we looking at a truck as the only option for these mpgs? If you think we need a truck, what do you recommend? We are probably looking for a somewhat older model as this will be our 3rd vehicle and the TT is primarily for recreation (1-3 week trips) and not full time travel (2009-2013 ish).

[Durb]

Look at the Canyon/Colorado pickups from General Motors with the 4 cylinder Duramax diesel. As I recall, Trailer Life magazine tested one with a Lance trailer behind it and reported results similar to what you are looking for. Mid size and available canopies may fill your other needs as well.

[sam22]

A newer Grand Cherokee will work perfectly. We towed our 5000lb+ trailer with a 2015 V6 for 10 000+km all over Canada and the US. We upgraded to the V8 a few years later and it was better for towing, but the V6 still did the job no problem. I don’t think you’ll find anything in your fuel mileage range. When towing we’d get around 9-12mpg depending on conditions with the V6. The V8 does better but not much.

[krobbe]

Your Forest River Wildwood 170SSX FSX has a 79sqft frontal area and is 23ft long.
As you've discovered, your Honda Pilot can move it. Just not at highway speeds and up or down grades without excessive wear and tear and frayed nerves.
A large SUV with a V8 or Ecoboost will have the horse power and torque to move that frontal area at highway speeds and up/down grades more easily. Some good choices for that size trailer is Tahoe/Yukon, Suburban/Yukon XL, and Expedition/EL.
I've heard that the longer Suburban/Yukon XL and Exp EL tow better than the shorter SUV's. Expect anywhere from 6 to 10 mpg from any gasoline engine while towing and you won't be disappointed.
As this is a 3rd vehicle for you, mileage shouldn't be much of an issue as it isn't a daily driver. My "vacation only" Suburban towing a 7500lb 34ft trailer averages 9mpg.

[JWF]

I pull a 4000lb with a GMC 6.0 eng. Yukon Denali. It does a great job. You will lose speed on hills.
You need to keep the transmission out of second gear on up grades. The mileage is never over 11 mpg. When I retired I bought the Yukon, I bought van conversions until then. They pulled GREAT.
But the price is so high I can’t afford one more.

[Jebby14]

whats the budget? shopping new or used? Id think an expidition will be your ticket though at near double the price of an f150 that would do just as well) if not better id suggest learning to like a truck. My wife did exactly that with mine since we couldnt justify the expidition she wanted. Now she loves my f150 (much more than her explorer)

[kellem]

What are your future plans regarding RVing ?

I ask for this reason.
We're on our 4th travel trailer and with each purchase a more formidable tow vehicle had to also be purchased.....yes stubborn.

If your planning to upgrade trailer, jump to a 2500 series truck and be done.

[APT]

12mpg towing is tough for any high walled RV. The wind resistance over 60mph is more a factor than weight. Some diesels can do it. If you can find a mid-sized SUV with ~3.0l diesel, that would do it. Otherwise, 8-10mpg towing and pick your favorite gas powered mid to larger SUV.

[Thermoguy]

I'm not a fan of towing with a small vehicle such as a mid sized SUV. I always feel like the tail is wagging the dog. I would suggest a full size SUV like a Tahoe or Yukon. We had a 2007 and it got great gas mileage on the freeway but we never towed with it. Not sure how it does towing, but a larger vehicle won't stress as much when towing like a smaller vehicle will. I also like the new 1/2 ton diesels if you are looking at a new vehicle. They get amazing gas mileage and have good towing for smaller trailers. I wouldn't suggest maxing out their towing capabilities as they don't perform well on hills with heavy loads, but should with the trailer you have. Most of us consider that the gas mileage you get with a trailer is just what you get. It the sacrifice for towing a trailer.

[Boomerweps]

All great advice above.
I'm towing a lighter TT at 3877# GVWR. With my previous TV, 2008 Ford Explorer tow rated 5225#, it towed great EXCEPT the engine was a dog. CAT Scaled it and turned out I was at 85% GCWR, and mildly overloaded on my drive & trailer axles.
Got a 2019 F150 and am super pleased when towing. And it's my DD. It did take some getting used to the 4 door's length and width compared to an Explorer. Even with the short bed, it is 10" longer than my old 1998 Expedition was (sold in 2016). Still only get get 10.3 mpg when towing but it's better than the Explorer's 9.8 mpg on a good day. V8 5.0L vs. V6 4.0L.
You don't mention kids. A standard cab or even a short bed extended cab pickup is easy enough to drive in town and could gain you a lot more towing power with a lot more options with the bed VS. an SUV.

[afidel]

11.1mpg over 28k miles of towing. We usually have cruise set at 68 mph, just a wee bit faster than the big rigs that are governed to 65 so we don't play leap frog with them. I've tried going faster when in the flatter parts out west but fuel economy really suffered quickly, to the point where the extra gas stops were pretty much negating the speed increase. The worst tank we had was 8.5 going into a 45mph headwind in Florida for several hours. This is a 5.3 v8 hauling a little 3,600gvwr trailer. We do a little better than average not because the trailer is light, but because it's only 7' wide and under 10' tall.

[Grit_dog]

As said above. Fuel mileage is more dependent on what your towing, how fast and the conditions than what your towing it with.
Don’t expect towing mileage, accept towing mileage.
Most any newer Mid or full size suv with a V8 will pull it effortlessly. Pick your favorite color, size and brand.

[TomG2]

An honest salesman guided me away from SUV's with the comment, "People have enough trouble keeping them right side up even without towing."

[colliehauler]

Suburban or Expedition and forget about good mpg when towing, not going to happen. To understand what the forces a vehicle has to deal with hold a sheet of plywood in a 20 mph wind. Now imagine what it takes to overcome a 60 mph wind.

[carringb]

^This. Some motors can be efficient when solo, but all motors drink heavy when towing. Although having more torque than the Pilot will help slightly (like 1-2 MPG) because you'll be able to maintain a lower RPMs. The EcoBoost is great for occasional towing, because it's very powerful, gets good mileage when un-hooked. But it'll still use almost as much fuel when towing.

That said... If towing mileage is a requirements, the baby-diesels shine here. But they still are plagued with emissions problems when driven in town, and you give up half the horsepower compared to the top-end gasoline offerings.

[Gdetrailer]

12-15mpg for towing?

Not gonna happen, just the nature of the beast.

Think of it like dragging a cement block the size of a billboard behind you.

Not even modern Diesels get that mileage when towing (pre emission Diesels often could get 15-19 MPG towing, newer emission Diesels are lucky to get 15 MPG empty.

Expect 9-11MPG for gas engine as a typical average, add in a lot of steep grades with heavy go peddle and you can be nearer to the 8-9MPG club.

Speed also will affect towing mileage, the faster you go, the worse it gets, lighten up on the go pedal, do not expect to drive it in a top fuel dragster mode and get decent mileage. You WILL drop speed and it WILL downshift going up grades and that WILL use more fuel.

To help make a comparision, one of my older trailer and truck combinations was a 97 Ford F250 with 5.4 and 20ft trailer (empty was 3,600 lbs and loaded was 5,800 lbs).. That combo gave me 9.1-9.9 MPG at 65 MPH.

My current combo, 2019 F250 6.2 gas engine, 26Ft TT (empty 5,000 loaded 6,200) gets me 9.1-10.1 MPG at 65 MPH for same route.

Just hooking up my 10K flat bead dovetail utility trailer with no load drags my mileage down to 10 MPG while towing and it only weighs 2,400 lbs empty.

Anyone that tells you they get 15 MPG with a gas engine while towing is lying and heck even the Ecoboost turbo F150 does the exact same thing, sure they can get 20-22 MPG EMPTY but hitch a trailer on and they drop down to 9-10MPG.

If you are seeking some off road type of adventure, a pickup truck with a fiberglass cap might work better for that.. You can setup a table/bed in the back, put some curtains in the windows and not have to deal with removing SUV seats although you would not have heat of A/C but some caps have windows which can be opened.. SUVs you would have to workaround seats that are not optimized for sleeping, carpeting and so on..